A Rain to Wash Away What's Past
by Duet-chan
Summary: A story set during Duo's time at the Maxwell Church. Duo is frightened by a thunder storm and has to be comforted by Sister Helen. Comments and reviews appreciated, the more I get the sooner I'll be inspired to write more.


Disclaimer: General disclaimer here. I don't own Gundam Wing or its character. I'm poor so don't sue me, please. This story is for entertainment purposes only.   
  


A Rain to Wash Away What's Past   
By Duo no Tenshi   
  
  


The thunder crashed outside the young boy's window again. He quickly pulled the sheets over his head to shield himself from the menacing noise. 

Duo hated thunderstorms. With every thunderclap he pulled the sheet tighter. He knew it wasn't right for an seven year old boy to be afraid of them, but that didn't make the fear go away. 

Growing up on L2 didn't help matters much. Their atmospheric controls weren't as regulated as the other colonies. The only time it did storm was when the upper classes wanted a storm and the storms always came with a price for the poor of the colony, who's water surplus was used for these spectacles. 

Because of the infrequency of the storms Duo never was able to fully face this fear. Every time it stormed the poor boy also had to face that fact that the storms always brought back the painful memories of trying to find some shelter in his early day as a street urchin. 

Another crack of lightning lit the sky and was followed by a roaring thunder. Lying in his bed cringing wasn't helping much. Duo needed to find a place that seemed more secure. He quietly got out of the bed and walked to the door careful not to wake the other boys in the room. 

Once he was out of the room he quietly closed the door and looked around the hall. He didn't know where he was going to go, he just knew he had to go somewhere else. Slowly the braided boy walked down the hall past the girls' room and close to the stairs. 

Just as the young boy reached the stairs, another bolt of lightning split the night and sent him running down the stairs into a corner until the thunder had stopped. Duo wiped the tears from his eyes and felt ashamed. _This is not how I should be reacting. I'm not afraid of anything! I should be back in my bed sleeping like a baby. Just like all the others. _

Duo got up from his corner and looked around. A light was on down the hall. _Someone else couldn't sleep in the storm too. _

It wasn't Father Maxwell, his room was near where Duo was standing. So it had to be Sister Helen. But why? 

Duo quietly crept passed Father Maxwell's door towards the lighted room. The thought of some type of company had soothed his fears a little. Some more thunder crashed outside the church, but Duo gathered all the will in him not to run through the door. She may have fallen asleep and forgotten to turn down her lamp. He just didn't want to take the chance of waking her. 

When Duo reached the nun's room he peered through the slightly open door. What he saw when he looked in was a small wooden writing desk directly across from him with a battered chimney lamp upon it. To the left, barely in Duo's view, was a bare-wood dresser with a rectangular mirror above it and a few small objects upon it. Directly to the right of the desk was the "bed" used by the sister, although it looked more like an over-sized cot than a bed. Finally, upon the bed sat Sister Helen. 

The sight before him awed the young boy. During his stay at the Maxwell Church Duo had only seen the nun in her customary habit. The outfit had always set her apart from the other women he had encountered in his life by making her seem more controlled and superior to the others in a way his developing mind could not quite grasp. But as he looked into the room that night he saw something different about her. 

Sister Helen sat on the edge of bed brushing out her hair. She had already changed out of her habit for the night and was in her white, calf-length nightgown. The coarse material of the gown reflected the great poverty of the little church just like the other linens in the church, but none of that was shown anywhere on the nun. She sat there contently humming a tune as she brushed her hair. The sight reminded Duo of the images he pictured when they had talked of angels a few weeks before, golden, beautiful, and seemingly pure. 

Another crash of thunder shook the building and Duo let out a little cry. He clamped his hands over his mouth when he realized he made a sound and prayed Sister Helen hadn't heard him. 

Sister Helen stopped brushing her hair and looked towards the door. "Who's there?" She asked rising from the bed. 

Taking a deep breath to calm his already shaken nerves, Duo pushed the door open. He stood in the doorway with his head bowed reflecting his guilt. "Sorry, Sister Helen," he said. 

"Duo. What are you doing here?" She said as she approached the boy in her doorway. "You should be in bed. You have school tomorrow." 

"I-I couldn't sleep." Duo managed to say. Having sister Helen see him like this made him feel awful. What would she think of him now? The young, tough, street-smart kid almost to the point of tears because of a thunderstorm. He wanted to run and hid in the deepest corner for the rest of his life. 

Sister Helen placed a hand on Duo's shoulder and led him into her room. She placed him on the edge of her bed and pulled out the desk chair to sit across from him. Duo wouldn't meet her eyes, but she started just the same. 

"What's the matter, Duo?" She started. 

No answer, no reaction. 

"Is it the storm?" 

No answer, but a quick shutter had assured her she was correct. 

"It's okay, Duo," she said as she took his hands in hers. "Many children are afraid of thunderstorms. They're scary." 

"But I'm not those other children," Duo said keeping his head bowed. "I'm not afraid of anything. In my life I can't afford to be afraid." 

Sister Helen realized comforting the boy was going to be harder than she had first thought. She should have realized that right away, this was Duo who was sitting on her bed after all. How was she going to deal with this? 

"Why are you still awake?" 

The question was so quiet she had almost missed it. She looked at the boy and saw that he was looking back at her. 

"What was that?" she asked to make sure she wasn't hearing things. 

"I said, why are you still awake? You're not afraid of the storm." His eyes reflected back to her an honest desire for knowledge that only a child could show. 

The sister closed her eyes and began, "They remind me of when I was a little girl. I grew up on Earth and there were always storms when I was little." Her eyes opened and sparkled at the thought of her childhood home. It had not been that long, five years maybe, since she had left. But it seemed a lifetime ago. 

Duo sat and watched the nun. _ Earth. So she was from Earth? _ He thought. _Why would she have ever wanted to leave there for a poor, rundown wreck like L2? _

As if reading his mind, Sister Helen's expression changed to a more melancholy one. "I became a nun and left Earth because I was running away from a problem I was too weak to face. It seemed like the best way to escape that burden. I hoped that I could be placed somewhere as far away as they could send me. About that same time, the sister that was helping Father Maxwell at this church had left and he was in need of another. I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to help people like I always wanted." 

Sister Helen looked over at the boy on her bed and realized she had begun to ramble on. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Duo. You wanted to know why I was awake and I began to give you my life story." 

"That's okay," Duo said with a smile. "I like to hear you-" 

There was another roar of thunder outside. It was quieter than the ones before it, but that didn't matter to Duo. 

Sister Helen watched Duo go rigid as the thunder roared. She quickly left her seat and sat next to Duo on the bed wrapping her arms protectively around him. 

"Shhhh. There, there. The storm's almost over. The thunder is quieting down now." She stroked the top of the frightened boy's head as he instinctively pulled himself closer to her. She held Duo like that for a few moments, then got an idea. 

"Duo," she started as she gently pushed him away to look at her. "Since we are both up right now and we'll probably be very tired in the morning, why don't I fix your braid tonight?" 

Duo looked at her for a moment thinking about what she had said. He liked it when she fixed his hair and maybe it would help keep his mind off the storm outside. He quietly nodded his approval of the idea. 

Sister Helen grabbed the brush and comb off her desk and sat behind Duo on the bed. She took out the band that held the boy's braid, and then she proceeded to undo the braid. Gently she combed through the waist length hair careful not to pull at the knots. Surprisingly there were very few knots and so she started to brush. 

Slowly and gently she combed through Duo's hair. She had never in her life seen a child with hair as long as his. When she brushed it she always took great joy in the act even if her first reaction to his hair was to cut it to a more "proper" length for a young man. After a while she had rhythm started and began to hum. 

Duo had closed his eyes and focused on the brushing, but he opened them once Sister Helen had begun to hum. It was the same song he had heard earlier. 

"What are you humming?" He asked. 

Smiling at he back of the boy's head, she said. "It's an old song I used to love when I was little. It's from a musical called 'The Phantom of the Opera' and the song is called 'Think of Me' (1). Would you like me to sing it to you?" 

"Yes, please." Duo replied trying to nod his head. 

The young nun smiled and started to sing the song from her youth. As she sang she made sure to keep her voice in soft, soothing tones as she continued to brush Duo's hair. She enjoyed having someone to sing to again. 

Duo's eyes closed again as he listened to the song. The whole atmosphere of the room made him feel safer than he had in a long while. He wondered of this was what it felt like to be part of a family, but he truly didn't care. If he could stay here with Sister Helen and Father Maxwell for the rest of his life he would be happy. 

There was another crash of lightning, but Duo hadn't moved an inch. He didn't need to be afraid of the lightning, at least not right now. Sister Helen was with him and he knew she would never let anything happen to him. He was safe. He was home. 

Sister Helen finished singing her song. She had been singing so intently that she hadn't noticed Duo leaning to one side. Her idea had worked. 

Gently, so as not to disturb the sleeping boy, she bound his hair at the base of is head and placed her comb and brush on the desk. She laid down the sleeping child under the covers of the little bed and got under herself. Then she reached over and turned out the lamp. 

The nun placed a hand on the sleeping boy's head and smiled. Her prayers from long ago had been answered in the form of this boy and the other children. 

_ See, Daddy, _ she thought. _ I have a family. It may not be with whom you wanted, but I'm happy and love them all just the same. They are my little angels. _

Sister Helen closed her eyes for the night and let the rain sing her to sleep.   
  


  
The End   


(1) "Think of Me" is the first solo for Christine Daae Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera.   
When sung softly this makes a nice lullaby for children. I found this out while babysitting on many occasions since I don't know too many lullabies. Try it. It works!   
~Duo no Tenshi 


End file.
